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A Cookbook, Connection, and Commitment: Liz and Tawan’s Journey

For Liz, the journey into sponsorship started in the most unexpected way.. a simple cookbook. At the time, she and her husband had been trying for a second child, and the process had left them feeling sad and uncertain. Reading about Hands Across the Water in that cookbook struck a chord with them.

“Having read the story in the cookbook, it really resonated with us, it helped us feel extremely grateful for what we had. And from there, we decided that we should help another child instead. Hands Across the Water came to us at exactly the right time!”
From the start, Liz and her husband felt good about the difference they could make - supporting a charity that felt personal, where they could see how their contribution helped. Their own son has grown curious and interested in the life of a boy in Thailand just two months younger than him, learning to appreciate how lucky he is. For Liz and her family, sponsorship has been a way to help in a real, practical way, while also showing that family can be found in many forms and can extend through love and connection.

Through Tawan’s Eyes - Finding Support and Possibility

Tawan, 14, has been living at PAMA House since 2015. With both parents in prison, he lives alongside his older brother Tongsun. Before this, they had been living with their grandparents, but after their grandfather passed away and their grandmother was unable to support them, PAMA House became their home. Despite these challenges, sponsorship has opened new opportunities for him - he is now in Grade 8, thriving at school, and able to dream about the future.
“Sponsors mean a lot to me because they give me the opportunity to study and improve myself. I feel happy knowing that there are people supporting me.”


Through Liz’s letters and gifts, Tawan feels assured that someone is thinking of him, and their connection has given him hope and a sense of belonging.

This Christmas, we celebrate the bonds between sponsor and child — and the lifelong impact it brings to both. If you’d like to see for yourself how rewarding this type of sponsorship can be, for just $110 a month, we can help make that happen.